


The Same Old Song

by linguisticallycunning



Series: Looking Back [4]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, Drunken Confessions, F/F, Family Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Outside Sex, Polyamory, Relationship(s), dirty art, honeymoon sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 09:20:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21371803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linguisticallycunning/pseuds/linguisticallycunning
Summary: A Phoebe Janeway inspired one-shot.This story picks up after The Song Remains the Same and we get to see some further antics of our favorite space wives as well as just how crazy being back with your family can be .This is a follow-up story but can be read on its own.
Relationships: B’Elanna Torres/Phoebe Janeway, Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine, Tom Paris/B'Elanna Torres
Series: Looking Back [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1110708
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	The Same Old Song

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little side adventure mostly starring Phoebe Janeway and B’Elanna Torres. Seven and the Captain manage to edge their way back in too. 
> 
> So without further ado, and as requested, the story continues in...

The Same Old Song

“The best ones were the ones I got to keep as I grew strong, and the days that opened up until my own life could belong.”

-Dar Williams, The Blessings

  
Six months after Q returns Voyager to Earth

It had been half a year since the miraculous return of the good ship Voyager and life had finally begun to resume some normality for the now famous Captain and her star-weary crew. The chaos had begun almost immediately, the moment they made contact with Starfleet everything had changed. No one had really been prepared for what actually awaited them. They were immediately swept into briefings and reminded of all the things they did not miss while they had been on their seven year sojourn. The Captain was present at many of the crew hearings while she faced countless reviews of her own. 

  
While Starfleet had welcomed them back with open arms, they were less forgiving once the briefings began. They had a lot of bones to pick, starting with the Maquis members and stretching through Seven, the Borg, and Captain Ransom, not in that order. Not the least was their actual means of arriving home, no one wanted to believe it was Q for some reason.

  
Kathryn and Seven had settled in San Francisco for the duration of the hearings. Seven would have preferred to stay at the farm with Gretchen but the commuting had gotten to Kathryn. Also they hadn’t worked the kinks out of the new portable regeneration unit yet so San Francisco it was. Kathryn had a regeneration unit transferred from Voyager, B’Elanna and Seven had installed it in the alcove of the master bedroom. Starfleet had not been overly enthused at Borg technology being installed in the Captain’s residence. They had even tried to use it against her during Seven’s hearings. But Janeway had them over a barrel there. Owen Paris was in charge of the hearing and he all but shut it down before it began. Protocol had forbidden he do that but Owen did a pretty good job of quelling the many objections thrown Seven’s way. In the end, they relented. The marriage had been the silver bullet. And just like that, Seven was free to be an individual.

  
The Doctor had also proved to be a battle but after several weeks invoking painfully Vulcan logic, they prevailed. The EMH was free to choose a name if he so desired and he alone held control over his program data and parameters. The Captain was pleased that she could secure individual rights for both her faithful hologram and her brand new wife. The Maquis were another story. They were pardoned outright, but they were questioned hard and long before they were told that. B’Elanna nearly got violent, it was only Janeway’s hand on her forearm that had kept her from storming out of the hearing. Tom was brought in and questioned with the Maquis, Owen had been barred from interfering on his son’s behalf and Tom was placed on probation for crimes he’d committed in another lifetime. He started on a bender almost as soon as his hearing had finished. It seemed to him that any good he’d done on Voyager had evaporated into the San Francisco fog. 

  
Kathryn, herself, had to endure another three weeks of grilling, answering for her every move while lost in the Delta Quadrant. Somehow she kept her pips. They wanted to promote her, really, to keep her desk bound, but she side-stepped them, taking the option of an extended leave instead. They could discuss her rank and orders in another six months time. 

  
Once the hearings were through, Kathryn was finally free to take Seven on a proper honeymoon. They started with the Grand Canyon, Earth’s Biggest Ditch, per Seven’s request. It did not disappoint. From there they hopped around, mostly at Seven’s whim. Seven’s favorite had been the pyramids in Egypt, she deemed their structure (but not their purpose) very efficient. The Borg had clearly learned a thing or two from these ancient architects. When they tired of sightseeing, they decided to take a few days in the South of France with a stopover in the real St. Claire. From there they would travel north to Paris just in time for Phoebe’s big opening night.

  
Phoebe Janeway sat in her studio. It was just on the edges of Paris and looked like something out of a picture postcard of what an artists studio should look like. Phoebe eschewed the digital arts, preferring the ancient methods of paint and bristle and clay. Her peers looked down on her Luddite take on media but Phoebe was seldom bothered by anything so petty as her peers. When the fans and the critics agree, you just keep doing your thing. That’s how she felt anyway. (Though her last show before Voyager’s surprise return had drawn more criticism than she was accustomed.)

  
Truth be told, Phoebe was feeling a little blocked. It wasn’t like her, she didn’t even believe in it for writers let alone painters. But each time she picked up her charcoal or her brushes, all she found herself staring into the blank white abyss of her empty canvas. If was intolerable! So she tried to sink her hands into the clay, she threw three lopsided pots in a row and finally just heaped the clay back into the pile. 

  
The last time she’d felt like this was not long after Voyager had been lost. She’d been in the middle of a bitter argument with her sister over Phoebe’s then boyfriend, Ventak. V, as he was known, was a famous artist from a federation colony near Vulcan. He was worlds renowned and a total douche bag. Which is exactly what Kathryn had screamed at her sister the last time they spoke. Less than a month later, Katie was lost and V had left her high and dry to chase some Bolian tail. Phoebe had slipped into an uncharacteristic depression and couldn’t paint for weeks on end. Finally she decided to take a break from the cosmopolitan life, and she retreated to her other home, the one up the gravel road from her mother’s. 

  
Back in Indiana, Phoebe regained a bit of herself. She loved the city truly but she would always be a country girl at heart. Being back on the farm made her miss Kathryn desperately, she rued the fight and all that was left unsaid. Phoebe had already forgotten about V but her grief over her lost sister had just begun in earnest. 

  
Most days were still a struggle but having her mother an accountable distance away helped Phoebe considerably. That was one of the many ways she and her older sister differed. Katie was, for all her closeness with her father, an absolute momma’s girl. And Gretchen, in turn, never felt she had to sit on her older daughter. Kathryn, high performing, skate out of trouble Kathryn, was always off the hook with her mother. Phoebe was another story. She was as rebellious as Katie was obedient, she rebuffed any kind of authority, she got caught every time. Her father secretly loved it. Phoebe was everything he couldn’t be. And Kathryn couldn’t be. They needed a single focus, a yoke, to contain their abilities. Starfleet was perfect for father and daughter but not Phoebe. 

  
Phoebe took after Gretchen but where Gretchen had chosen to fall into line, in her own way, Phoebe eschewed the very thought of being part of the “normal” world. Phoebe refused to be dictated to, despised orders, and Gretchen had attacked that with full force. Not to squelch it but to strengthen it. If Phoebe was going to walk her own path, Gretchen wanted her to be strong enough to succeed at it. That made for a lot of nagging and arguments but, much to Phoebe’s chagrin, it had worked. She’d grown up every bit as tough as her Starfleet trained sister, mostly thanks to Gretchen’s unending efforts. Even now, Gretchen’s impending presence made Phoebe hop to, anticipating her mother’s most nag-worthy chores and moving as best she could before she had to hear Gretchen say them aloud. 

  
So Gretchen, slightly inadvertently, had helped Phoebe to get back on her feet. They were both heartbroken about Kathryn. Where Edward’s death had driven a wedge between them, the loss of Kathryn brought Gretchen and Phoebe much closer. They took solace in knowing the other was there, even when they couldn’t vocalize those thoughts. In fact, they grew accustomed to being around each other so much that Phoebe was in Indiana more than she was anywhere. Her love life had grown dodgy after V and she found she’d grown tired of a lot of the bullshit of dating. She wasn’t strictly celibate or anything but she was avoiding commitment like a pro. So much so that Gretchen couldn’t help but comment about it, annoying Phoebe to no end. That was right before Voyager had magically appeared in the skies over Bloomington. 

  
Gretchen couldn’t hold her tongue as she watched Phoebe move through a series of lovers of all variety. She hadn’t met most but the few she had were all over the map. Two were great and tossed away. Three were mediocre and tossed away. And one was truly awful and should never have been there in the first place. It was that comment that had started the fight that sent Phoebe storming back to France. But then Kathryn had come home and somehow changed the whole world in the process. 

  
If Phoebe hadn’t been yanked right from her studio, she’d never have believed it. It was unreal. But she wasn’t questioning it, not one bit. She was ecstatic to have her sister back, overwhelmed really, in the best way possible. And seeing Kathryn marry anyone, not the least a woman, not the very least, that woman, well that completely altered Phoebe’s world. She was supposed to be the wild romantic, not Katie! 

  
It was enough to jolt Phoebe out of her ongoing, listless fucking around. She finally stood back and realized that she’d been with a lot of great people in her life but not one she looked at the way Kathryn looked at Seven. She realized she wanted that too. Which was very weird. Phoebe had never been big on monogamy or fidelity. She never saw the value of getting too attached. It always ended up like V or worse. But watching her sister marry that absolutely smitten Borg, well it really had gotten to her. And ironically, it was the same day she met Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres.

  
Phoebe had known a few Klingons in her day but B’Elanna was nothing remotely like any of them. Except perhaps in the immense energy the half-Klingon exuded. From their first exchange at the bar, Phoebe was sold, at least on a base, animal attraction level. She’d been disappointed when B’Elanna had politely turned her down but in the glaring light of the next day, Phoebe realized it was for the best. Sure it might have been mindblowingly hot sex but there was something else there. She wasn’t sure what but it clearly wasn’t to be taken lightly. So, in a completely uncharacteristic move, Phoebe let it go. She didn’t forget though and her dreams wouldn’t let her even when she tried.

  
The dreams were bizarre. Half the time she could only recall scant images, places, faces. When she could remember, it was so obvious and yet so confounding all she could do was shake her head until it faded. Sometimes just getting up was enough. Falling back asleep never was the right choice. That was when the craziest dreams happened and B’Elanna was regular surprise guest. Kathryn popped up disturbingly often and even Seven had made some very unborglike comments that caused Phoebe to blush even in her sleep.

  
It was after a week’s worth of these dreams that Phoebe had the bright idea to invite B’Elanna, and Tom she supposed, to her gallery opening in a few weeks time. It had been months since Voyager had returned. Katie and Seven were on their whirlwind honeymoon tour and would also be there for the opening. It should have bothered Phoebe more that only half of her pieces were finished but she was preoccupied. Once she sent off the invites though, a wave of manic energy swept over her. Phoebe threw herself into her studio and went fiercely to work. 

  
B’Elanna Torres stormed away from her own house after slamming the front door hard enough for it to fall off its hinges. It wasn’t just her house. That was part of the problem. The other part of the problem was Tom. Maybe it was his close proximity to Starfleet and his father, but Tom had regressed steadily since their return to Earth. He’d been acting out more, disappearing to Sandrine’s and other, far-seedier holo-locales. This wasn’t the Tom she’d known all those years on Voyager. This wasn’t the Tom she’d fallen in love with. She’d been willing to hang in there at first but when the drinking began to sky rocket and he started picking fights, she hit him with an ultimatum. Either he could quit drinking and start talking to a counselor or she was gone. 

  
It had backfired spectacularly. Tom was further down the spiral of depression than B’Elanna realized and in his fractured state, he’d accepted a year-long deep space mission. Clearly he was desperate for some kind of change. B’Elanna had been lucky, she supposed. Almost as soon as she’d been cleared of her Maquis past, the job offers had poured in. She was not eager to be back in space just yet and had accepted a position with the Daystrom Institute. She wanted Tom to reconsider but he’d sobered up as soon as he accepted the orders. 

  
Tom had returned to some semblance of himself but he still needed to prove something. B’Elanna couldn’t understand it, she was the one who hadn’t wanted to return. Tom was having an early mid-life crisis she supposed and she was furious that he had been so short-sighted as to accept such a long mission that she couldn’t be a part. He’d hurt her deeply. It didn’t matter. He was still going. He’d hoped she’d understand.

  
“Understand what? That you’ve been a total targ since we returned! That you’d rather spend time with holo-bimbos than with me! I thought you wanted to be with me?”

  
“It’s not that B’Elanna, it’s, it’s just everything.”

  
“Your right, Tom, I don’t understand.”

Even after that round, B’Elanna was still considering waiting it out for him. Then she’d walked in on him in the Holodeck. The return of Captain Proton and the slave girls was the last straw. That was the first promise he’d really made her once they were a couple. Seeing that one had been tantamount to cheating for B’Elanna. That’s when she walked out. 

  
Tom left two days later. B’Elanna still felt sick about it. It had gone to hell so quickly. And she still loved him which helped nothing. She raged about it, her workouts achieving painful new heights. She wanted to reach out but she didn’t feel like there was anyone who could help. Voyager was a double edged sword. Only her crew mates would really understand and yet she felt like their break-up left her with no one. She’d reached out to Chakotay but he was off the grid and she wasn’t sure he’d even received the message. She had tried Seven as well but she and the Captain were traveling and also out of touch. So B’Elanna worked and she punched things in the gym.

  
Then the invitation arrived. It was addressed to her and Tom and she nearly just ignored it but curiosity had gotten the better of her. She’d nearly forgotten about that night with Phoebe. As her eyes ran over the words, a blush began to warm her face. The opening was still nearly a month away but B’Elanna felt a strange tingle in her palms. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a very long time and something primal began to stir in her hot, hybrid blood. She marked the date and hoped she could put the sudden image of her captain’s flirty sister back out of her mind. It didn’t work though. Phoebe’s face came floating back. It was so unlike her sister’s, except for the eyes. That gave B’Elanna pause. She’d seen what eyes like that could do and if Phoebe’s eyes possessed even a fraction of the wattage of her older sister, she was probably better left alone.

  
The mind is a tricky thing though, and despite her best conscious efforts, B’Elanna’s dreams began to run away with her. At first, she could remember nothing, she just began waking with an odd feeling of exhaustion but there was something unidentifiably satisfying about it. That went on for a few days until she received a message from Tom. It was just another attempt at an apology. He assumed she was long gone, he never would have guessed she’d returned to the house. He was cutting her loose it seemed and it left her feeling queasy. She couldn’t read him, and sometimes, she reminded herself, there was nothing there to read. It felt so rushed and yet there was an odd relief in their separation, for both of them. Life on Voyager had been controlled, limited, and they were both still in their twenties when they’d first gotten stranded. It seemed they both still had some growing to do.

  
B’Elanna didn’t reply to the message. Instead she tore into a a case of Romulan Ale. Four drafts in and she was drunk dialing Janeway. First Kathryn. Then Phoebe. It was Phoebe that sent the immediate response. B’Elanna had only intended to leave a message but seeing Phoebe’s lightning response, she drunkenly opened a live comm link. Suddenly Phoebe was looking back at her, leveling her green eyes, which must have possessed just as much power as her sisters because B’Elanna was struck absolutely dumb.

  
“B’Elanna? Are you ok?” Phoebe sounded concerned. B’Elanna suddenly panicked about what she was wearing, looking down in a fright, and forgetting Phoebe could see her every move. Realizing she must look nuts, B’Elanna took a deep breath and willed her stomach to stop jumping.

  
“I’m fine,” she managed lamely, thankful she hadn’t drunk enough to slur.

  
“Liar! I can see you, ya know?”

  
“Right. Well, fuck. I don’t know. Tom left.”

  
“Left? Left you?”

  
“Left the planet. But yeah, left me,” it sounded bizarre saying it aloud. It was the first time she’d actually spoken the words. 

  
“Oh shit. I-I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry?” Am I sorry? She thought not knowing the answer.

  
“No. There’s nothing to be sorry for. I mean, it was kinda inevitable. And maybe it’s not forever. I mean, I do still love him. I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t. I never shouldn’t.”

  
The drink was beginning to catch up with B’Elanna and Phoebe could tell she’d have to wrap this quickly. 

  
“Hey, B’Elanna, Hey! Look, I can tell this is going to be a lot to unpack for you and tonight’s not the time or place. You need to get yourself to bed. And tomorrow, take a couple days off from work. I can’t leave here right now, the opening is only ten days away and honestly I’m still a bit fucked myself. But anyway, I would love to buy you a coffee or whatever and let you vent. So come here and change your gears for a couple days. Get your mind off ole Tommy the Terror.”

  
The gears were churning in B’Elanna’s head but no words were reaching her mouth. She wasn’t she was she was mutely acquiescing to but she was pretty sure she should be more cautious. But she was drunk and her heart was pounding out of her chest.

  
The next day she requested a short leave from the lab. She had never really stepped away, as soon as the the hearings ended, she begun work. No one begrudged her a little time. And it would still be weeks before the transwarp trials would be ready to begin so no harm really. 

  
B’Elanna stepped off the transport pad and found herself looking straight up at the Eiffel Tower.

  
Phoebe met her at a café a few blocks away. B’Elanna was carrying a small duffel with her that had been packed hastily and with little thought. When her eyes landed on Phoebe, B’Elanna suddenly wished she made a little more effort. She knew she looked like hell and nothing in the bag was going to improve it. Then her thoughts roiled back to Tom and she had to force a wave of anger back down her throat. She took a long deep breath and walked up to the tall blonde.

  
They started with coffee but it quickly descended into wine. B’Elanna found once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. Whenever Phoebe did interject, it was only to offer more wine or the occasional consolation. They were picking at food as they drank but it did little to slow the effects of alcohol. It didn’t take both women all that long to grow too loud for public. They sensibly paid the check once they’d finished the second bottle of Chateau Picard. 

  
Stumbling back into the late afternoon Parisian sunlight, Phoebe looped her arm though B’Elanna’s and lead her the long way back to her studio and apartments. B’Elanna looked down at their looped arms and a strange tingle shot up her spine. This time she spared Tom not one thought as a huge smile broke over her face.

  
Phoebe’s studio was mind blowing and B’Elanna felt inadequate in the face of such talent. Sure she could rebuild a warp drive manifold with one arm behind her back but what was that in the face of such sheer beauty? A blush had crept up Phoebe’s inebriated cheeks as she watch B’Elanna stare intently at the half finished pieces littering the studio. She was currently studying an abstract, one that Phoebe had used B’Elanna as a rough model. She willed herself to stop squirming and flirting. She walked over to B’Elanna instead. 

  
“I have to finish at least four of these before next week. Let’s go upstairs, they’re making me anxious.”

  
“Well, if you need to work,” B’Elanna started to say but was unceremoniously yanked towards the ancient, iron staircase hidden in the corner of the studio.

  
Settled upstairs, the lights of Paris surrounded them. Night had fallen quickly and with it, the last of B’Elanna’s energy. Phoebe had wanted to splash out but sensing B’Elanna’s exhaustion, she decided to take her to the bistro on her block. There the conversation continued between them, fluctuating from B’Elanna bitching about Tom to some of the wilder, more classified tales from the Delta Quadrant.

  
Phoebe couldn’t figure out what they were doing exactly. She just couldn’t tear herself away from B’Elanna. She was loathe to be the other woman, it just didn’t look good on her. But from what it was sounding like, Tom was out of the picture, at least for the next year or so. That changed the equation, just not enough for Phoebe to make a move. There was something very real growing between them and it deserved better than a one night stand. Even if that meant nothing ever happened, she could live with that. She wanted B’Elanna in her life, it seemed, at any cost. 

  
Eventually, they made their way back upstairs. It was pretty late and they had killed another bottle of wine. B’Elanna was yawning despite herself. Phoebe offered up her bedroom but B’Elanna shook her off, opting instead to stay on the overstuffed coach in the living room. Phoebe brought her pillows and blankets and B’Elanna accepted them awkwardly. Then Phoebe shuffled off into her own bedroom and B’Elanna heard the creaky sounds of an old guitar filter through the still open doorway. She yawned again and wondered when her tolerance had dropped so low. Probably when Tom’s skyrocketed she supposed. Her head ached a little and she decided lying down seemed like a great idea. She curled up on the couch and pulled the blanket over herself, not bothering to take anything off but her boots.

  
Over the next few days, Phoebe worked furiously in the morning before B’Elanna woke. They’d spend the afternoon and early evening seeing some of Paris, the museums, the galleries, the cafes. Phoebe explained every sight as they trailed their way through the ancient streets. She’d lived in Paris on and off since college. She’d moved around a lot, but it was Paris she’d always returned. When she had her first major opening, she bought the space she had still. 

  
B’Elanna had never given art much thought. It had always bored her a bit, mostly because it made her feel like a lunkhead. She didn’t see in metaphors, she was used to blueprints and concrete equations. The abstract was a foreign language to her but walking through endless museums with Phoebe changed that. Phoebe helped her see, not just what was there, but what wasn’t. It wasn’t the history lessons from school, Phoebe made each piece alive. She made B’Elanna feel alive. 

  
After the first night, Phoebe returned to her studio each night. Her deadline was looming and B’Elanna was as much distraction as she was inspiration. Phoebe was getting closer, another day or so should do it. Which was good because the show was suddenly three days away. B’Elanna had been there a week. B’Elanna had been there a week? 

  
They were saying goodbye at the door. B’Elanna was going to check into a hotel, she couldn’t just keep crashing on Phoebe’s couch, and people would be arriving soon for the opening. And not the least because the temptation to do something regrettable had grown just too great. Just as B’Elanna was about to go, Phoebe grabbed hold of her hand. That was all it took to break their shaky resolves. When B’Elanna turned back, she wrapped her free arm around Phoebe and suddenly they were kissing. It was impossible to tell who started it as it took no time for their tongues to begin to tangle. 

  
B’Elanna’s Klingon tinged blood began to roar in her ears, blocking out every sound but the soft moans emanating from deep within Phoebe’s throat. B’Elanna kissed her harder, possessively, drawing their bodies tighter, closer. 

  
The force of their kissing propelled them awkwardly backwards, across the narrow hallway, until Phoebe’s momentum shifted slightly and she found herself plastered up against the wall, just a scant few meters from her bedroom. She didn’t mind at all as the full force of B’Elanna slammed into her slighter body. She could feel B’Elanna’s breasts pressing against her and she instinctively lifted her right leg, her knee making a gentle, and persistent pressure at the juncture of B’Elanna’s legs. Phoebe could feel the heat through several layers of clothing but before she consider that further, she felt B’Elanna reach beneath the thin, cotton shirt she was wearing, her warm hands wasting no time as they explored every inch of tingling skin they could reach. Rivulets of fire trailed across Phoebe’s torso in their wake and when B’Elanna reached higher still, cupping Phoebe’s bra-less breasts, Phoebe let loose a scream of her own. This served to only enflame B’Elanna further as she began to knead and pinch the soft flesh. Phoebe was moaning outright now, urging B’Elanna not to stop, not to ever stop.

  
There was a sudden sound of tearing and Phoebe looked down to realize B’Elanna had ripped the t-shirt clean away. She glanced at Phoebe then, a feral look dancing across her own dilated eyes. Phoebe thought she might just come right then and there as B’Elanna lowered her mouth, catching one of Phoebe’s throbbing nipples between her sharp teeth. Phoebe arched her back and tightened the thigh between B’Elanna’s legs, drawing them closer together still. B’Elanna drew a ragged breath as she moved quickly to devouring the other breast. Phoebe was seeing stars, her gasps fighting against the sudden dryness of her throat. She needed more, much more of B’Elanna and she didn’t want it standing up. Not tonight. 

  
Phoebe took advantage of B’Elanna catching her breath, pushing herself off the wall and twisting around in B’Elanna’s arms. She pulled her by one of her powerful arms and they tumbled into the bedroom. B’Elanna was pulling off the remnants of her own clothing and had lost both her shirt and shoes by the time they’d reached the bed. 

  
Sitting coyly on the edge of the silken sheets, Phoebe wore nothing at all. She reached for the buckle of B’Elanna’s belt, pulling her forward until she was eye to eye with B’Elanna’s lace enclosed breasts. Phoebe raised an eyebrow at the lace making a face dangerously close to one of her sister’s. Luckily, Phoebe’s fingers moved fast and B’Elanna was soon distracted from the thought by the sound of her pants hitting the floor. She looked down at their trail of clothing before slowly raking her eyes up and over Phoebe’s naked form. Her blonde hair was loose, falling gently forward, covering her now dark eyes but falling just short of the points of her dusky, swollen nipples. 

  
Grabbing her hand once more, Phoebe pulled B’Elanna forward, out of her pants and onto her. The bed creaked as their nearly nude bodies met for the first time. B’Elanna shuddered as she opened her eyes to see Phoebe’s green eyes smiling up at her. 

  
“I’ve never done this before,” B’Elanna whispered, suddenly struck by what was about to happen.

  
Phoebe’s smile grew broader still and she reached her hand up to softly caress B’Elanna’s cheek. Her fingers were soft, moving slowly up past the smooth plane of her cheek all the way up to the ridges on her forehead.

  
“No pressure, love,” Phoebe whispered back. “But don’t think so hard.”

  
B’Elanna paused, looking down at Phoebe’s long lithe body beneath her. B’Elanna looked so much darker next to the paleness of Phoebe’s skin, intermingled, they were a study in contrasts, one that B’Elanna suddenly wanted to get a PhD in. Her lips broke into a broad smile then, and a small gurgle of a laugh escaped her lips. Her blood began to roar once more as she lowered her mouth to Phoebe’s and finally stopped thinking.

  
“I love that you call me love,” she managed to say as they rolled over each other. The bed was enormous, Phoebe did nothing by halves, and there was more than enough room to support the battle for dominance that began to ensue.

  
B’Elanna was used to being in charge. Phoebe knew it, and wanted it, but she knew B’Elanna needed a reminder of something else. She got away with always being the top, and Phoebe was far too egalitarian to let that stand. B’Elanna was shocked, just shocked, to find herself pinned beneath the much slighter Phoebe. 

  
“Never been with a girl,” Phoebe taunted, “I’m a little surprised.”

  
“Me too,” B’Elanna countered, wrapping her arms tighter around Phoebe’s soft waist. 

  
“Well good things come to those who wait,” Phoebe purred before lowering her lips to B’Elanna’s and ending their brief conversation. She kissed her gently at first, moving from B’Elanna’s questing lips to her neck and finally trailing lower to the still lace clad breasts. The front facing clasp sprung open at Phoebe’s touch freeing B’Elanna’s full, copper colored breasts. Phoebe marveled for a long moment at the bronze goddess lying beneath her, waiting impatiently to be touched. Phoebe willed herself to slow down but one taste of B’Elanna’s salty skin was enough to put her into catalytic overdrive. She couldn’t stop, she couldn’t even slow herself, as she lashed mercilessly at one nipple and then the other, B’Elanna writhing beneath her.

  
The sensations rippling B’Elanna were so intense, any logical thoughts had long since evaporated. She never felt like this in bed, never, and she’d had quite a lot of pretty hot sex. But never when she wasn’t in charge, in control. Never without her thinking all the while. Now she couldn’t think if she wanted, she was completely beneath Phoebe’s spell. It was a position she’d never wanted to find herself with any of her male partners. They were always expecting submissive and she was loathe to give it to any of them. And yet Phoebe was here, in total control, and B’Elanna couldn’t get enough.

  
Phoebe’s mouth trailed still lower, tracing circles over B’Elanna’s rippled abs. B’Elanna was grunting and growling, her hand reaching for Phoebe but she was gone from her range. She’d in fact settled snugly between B’Elanna’s legs and was tracing tiny patterns across the soft skin of B’Elanna’s inner thighs. B’Elanna canted her hips, completely out of any semblance of control. Phoebe was growing impatient as well and so complied with B’Elanna’s wanton desire by tugging away the sodden panties to reveal a dark and well manicured arrow of tufty hair. Phoebe wasted no time in running her fingers though the curls and she was struck by just how damp B’Elanna was. She was practically dripping and under the searching touch of Phoebe’s fingers, and a fresh surge of moisture wrapped around Phoebe’s hand.

  
Phoebe sensed B’Elanna couldn’t take much more and she slowly parted the dark curls before circling B’Elanna’s aching clit. She quickly replaced her fingers with her mouth, letting her tongue draw lazy circles. Her fingers continued on, sinking slickly inside B’Elanna with a motion so smooth the half Klingon screamed her name. Phoebe took the hint as she began to pump her two fingers, than three, curling them then withdrawing them before thrusting them forward once more. Her mouth locked over B’Elanna’s clit, sucking the tender skin and pressing it against the edges of her teeth. B’Elanna’s screams we’re becoming rhythmic as was the canting of her hips. Phoebe wrapped her free hand around B’Elanna’s waist to steady herself.

  
“Fuck me,” B’Elanna yelled.

  
Phoebe complied, thrusting harder until her curling fingers could hit the secret patch that sent B’Elanna shrieking into the stratosphere. The orgasm hit her so fast and so hard she practically crushed Phoebe between her powerful thighs. She came to still holding Phoebe’s head to her as Phoebe continued to lap away at B’Elanna’s essence.

  
She gave a slight tug to Phoebe’s hair and the blonde reluctantly pulled herself away to look up at B’Elanna’s slightly crossed eyes. Phoebe wrenched herself up and crawled over B’Elanna’s sweaty, still twitching limbs, to lie just beside her.

  
“Wow,” was all B’Elanna could say. She could barely remember her name and yet she still wanted more. She wanted to see Phoebe succumb to her. And so, in an amazing display of speed, B’Elanna changed gears and effectively pinned Phoebe beneath her. She didn’t waste any breath on talking, choosing instead to use her lips in other, more salacious ways. She began with a trail of love bites turning to tiny hickies once she reached the tender, hidden skin of Phoebe’s lightly freckled breasts. She nipped at Phoebe’s nipples, becoming distracted as Phoebe began to cry out above her. B’Elanna resisted the intense urge to taste Phoebe in favor of being able to look in her eyes. So she reached her hand lower from its hold on Phoebe’s sharp hip to the silken meeting of her slim legs. 

  
Phoebe was dripping as well, not the least because B’Elanna’s massive orgasm had triggered one to ripple through her as well. She was desperate for B’Elanna’s touch and she was not disappointed as two of B’Elanna’s broad fingers plunged into her without hesitation. Phoebe’s hips surged to meet B’Elanna’s thrusts and B’Elanna quickly added a third finger, stretching Phoebe pleasantly as she adjusted to the new girth inside her. B’Elanna moved slowly at first but Phoebe was desperate, rolling her hips higher and letting out a series of gasping moans that sounded like the word please.

  
A new sensation crept over B’Elanna as she gazed down at Phoebe’s rapt features, her wanting body grasping at B’Elanna’s, trying to draw them ever closer. B’Elanna felt her own desire rising once more as her thrusts became wilder. Phoebe through back her head and howled as B’Elanna raised her thumb to brush against Phoebe’s clit. B’Elanna thought she might come again just watching the rapture transform Phoebe’s features. Her fingers moved faster, their bodies now in tandem. She could feel Phoebe tightening, rising. B’Elanna curled her fingers, her thumb was circling harder, faster, and Phoebe was swept away on a wave of B’Elanna’s lust. 

  
When Phoebe could move again, she opened one eye to see B’Elanna still gaping at her. That level of consciousness would never do and before B’Elanna could realize, Phoebe buried two fingers deep inside B’Elanna’s still dripping pussy. B’Elanna returned the favor and soon they were fucking hard and furious, all sense of softness or propriety now abandoned. 

  
When they finally collapsed apart, it only lasted about twenty minutes. Just long enough to gulp down some water before they were suddenly at it again in the kitchen. They couldn’t seem to stop, Phoebe thought, as she found herself pressed against the back of the couch, B’Elanna on her knees before her. They kept it up until they could no longer raise their heads, collapsing in a sweaty heap on the couch. Phoebe reached for the quilt that was cast over the sofa back and pulled it loosely around their cooling bodies. She kissed the already snoring B’Elanna and fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

  
…the next morning

There was a loud banging coming from somewhere. B’Elanna sat up like a shot, grasping the blanket around her still naked body and waking Phoebe with her sudden thrashing. They hadn’t made it back to the bedroom the night before, eventually passing out in each other’s arms on the oversized sofa. Phoebe opened one crocodile eye, squinted at B’Elanna, and fell back to the single pillow with a broad smile. Then the banging started again, this time it was followed by a shout. Panic shot through Phoebe. She’d know that voice anywhere. What was worse was that voice had a key. With a stuttered beep, the door creaked open.

  
Before Phoebe could voice anything to B’Elanna, Kathryn Janeway waltzed through the front door and yelped. Seven had been right behind her and stumbled into her back when she stopped short, by the sight of her sister and her former chief engineer huddled naked on a couch, hidden only by a single blanket.

  
“You should check your messages more, Katie,” was all Phoebe said, smiling broadly as anger and shock rippled over her older sister’s features.

“What the hell is going on here?” Kathryn bellowed, her command mask clattering. 

  
Phoebe moved to get up but realized quickly that it would leave either her or B’Elanna quite naked and thought better of it. 

  
“Don’t you dare come into my house and bellow at me like dear old dad, Katie!” Phoebe fired back, her face now as scarlet as her sister’s. Seven looked from one Janeway to the other noting the resemblances silently. Then her eyes drifted over to B’Elanna who shrugged slightly in response. Seven also detected a minute smirk creeping around B’Elanna’s lips.

  
“Captain—“ B’Elanna started but Phoebe cut her off.

  
“Don’t Captain her here, love, here she is just my big, nosy sister!”

  
The mounting tension was getting at Seven. She disliked tension and especially disliked the face Kathryn was currently wearing. It seemed nothing would be resolved while half of the parties lacked clothing. She cautiously put her arm on her partner’s, feeling the nerves jump beneath her touch. When she wasn’t immediately rebuffed, she bravely interjected.

  
“Perhaps we could let them get dressed Kathryn,” she said softly but without pleading. “I’m sure Phoebe has some coffee we could make while they do that.”

  
“Don’t count on it!” Kathryn fired back but Seven could see the temptation of coffee was already enticing her.

  
“There are beans in the kitchen,” Phoebe said, realizing Seven had gained the upper hand. 

  
“Fine,” Kathryn said acidly but she allowed herself to be lead grudgingly into the kitchen.

Once the doors swung closed behind them, Phoebe turned her flushed face to B’Elanna.

  
“Fuck,” was all she said.

  
Standing in the kitchen, Kathryn went to measure out the coffee and found her hands were still shaking. Seven watched her silently, unsure how she could diffuse Kathryn’s anger. Really, Seven found it amusing, even ironic. She was surprised at B’Elanna, she always put a high price on fidelity, and Seven surmised that Tom must have done something to have caused all this.

  
“Have you checked your messages?” Seven asked cautiously.

  
“No more than you!” The redhead shot back but a smile crossed her lips as she remembered what had been keeping her so distracted. “Maybe you should check them now. I imagine those two are trying to get their stories straight.”

  
The coffee had just begun to drip, the dark liquid was pooling in the carafe at a painfully slow pace. 

  
“Should I call your messages up as well? There was only one for me from B’Elanna. In it she stated Tom had ‘left’ her.”

  
“Shit,” Kathryn turned away from the coffee and faced Seven, the anger beginning to drain from her face. “See if there’s anything in my inbox. Please.”

  
“Several from your mother. A couple from Phoebe. One from B’Elanna. And one from Tom,” Seven handed the padd over.

  
“Mom doesn’t know anything,” she said, her eyes scanning the words quickly. “Tom says he fucked up and took some deep space mission. He asked me not to interfere. He had some things to work out, he’d slipped back to his old ways? What the hell does that mean! And drunk B’Elanna. Damn him. And damn my sister. She knew better!”

  
The coffee had all but finished and Seven grabbed the mugs before looking back at Kathryn. 

  
“We need to hear it from them,” Seven said, tilting her head in the direction of the living room. “It is surely more complicated than the little we know.”

  
“When did you get so wise about humanity?” Kathryn asked as she grabbed the carafe from the counter. Seven twisted around and planted a light kiss on Kathryn’s lips before wordlessly leaving the kitchen.

B’Elanna and Phoebe had dressed in hurry. Their hearts were pounding, their heads were swimming. They had hastily heaved B’Elanna’s scant belongings into Phoebe’s bedroom to get them out of the way. They barely said a word to each other and Phoebe had begun to think she’d done something wrong. 

  
“Katie never really stays mad that long,” Phoebe finally said, breaking the awkward silence. 

  
“It’s not that. It’s-I don’t want to explain about Tom. I barely understand it. One minute I’m thinking of marrying him, the next he’s hightailing it to the next Quadrant?”

  
“I’m sorry, I mean last night—

  
B’Elanna caught Phoebe by the wrist and made her face her.

  
“No, uh uh, last night was the best thing to happen to me in a long, long time. That’s why I don’t want to have to explain it! Not to them, or anyone!”

  
B’Elanna bit back angry tears at the the entire predicament. This was no way to start. So she took a deep breath and looked once again at Phoebe’s swirling emerald eyes.

  
“Look, I’m a big girl. Tom’s a douche. And these things happen. We’re not on Voyager. I just, just—

  
“Don’t want her to be disappointed in you?” Phoebe finished for her. “Same. Let’s say we go take our beatings together?”

  
Phoebe walked down the steps first, followed by B’Elanna. They were both still barefoot Kathryn noticed. She felt Seven squeeze her knee lightly, urging Kathryn to be civil. It worked and she held her tongue. The coffee helped immensely. Soon everyone was slurping away, waiting for a different boom to fall. Finally, Kathryn and B’Elanna spoke at once, their words mingling in midair.

  
“It just happened.”  
“I checked my messages.”

  
The garble only lead to more garble with Phoebe unhelpfully interjecting as well. Seven finally broke through.

  
“Perhaps we should let B’Elanna begin,” she said flatly as both Janeway women gaped at her audacity. They complied, though they still glared at one another. 

  
B’Elanna looked sheepish. She had no idea where to begin. Everything was such a mess. She looked blankly from one face to another, unable to find a single word to say. Her eyes fixed on the stormy grey eyes of her captain, eyes she’d been accountable to for nearly eight years. B’Elanna closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  
“It started with Tom,” she said quietly, her eyes still shut. “He couldn’t cope with being back. It was somehow like the last seven years hadn’t happened. He started drinking, a lot, staying out, hitting the Holodeck hard. I couldn’t take it.”

  
She raised her eyes, still fixed on the captain. Kathryn could see the red rims, the tired circles, so she nodded quietly, urging B’Elanna to go on.

  
“So I snap right? Not unexpected or even really crazy. And he totally flips out and signs up for an insane deep space mission. He was gone before we could even cool off. And so, I’m done with him.”

  
“And this?” Kathryn’s eyes shifted to Phoebe who was still looking defiant.

  
“This, just happened,” Phoebe said pointedly, trying to spare B’Elanna more questioning.

  
“This was something that needed to happen, Captain,” B’Elanna was not about to be protected.

  
“I think, under the circumstances you better get used to calling me Kathryn. And, since we are no longer aboard Voyager, my jurisdiction over your personal life has ended. I would have qualms with anyone that chose my sister—

  
A pillow sailed across the room and came dangerously close to knocking Kathryn’s coffee from her hand.

  
“Watch it Katie!” Phoebe growled.

  
But it was enough to break the tension and Kathryn could not contain the chuckle that escaped from her lips. This was all ridiculous! Yet how could she have expected anything less? What a mess!

  
Soon all four of them were laughing, even Seven, who’d been conspicuously silent.

  
“Don’t you have any comments, Borg princess,” B’Elanna had regained the power of speech and immediately used it to taunt Seven.

  
“I believe monogamy is only one of countless family structures,” Seven arched her eyebrow and waited for Kathryn to react.

  
“Really,” Kathryn snorted, “Well, I suppose that is true. Though not for me.”

  
“I think we all know that Katie!” Phoebe threw in for good measure.

  
“Look, I know this all looks crazy, it probably is crazy, and I don’t know where Tom will fit if he ever decides to come back. But I do know this, I love him, and I love your sister, and right now, only Phoebe has cared enough to stick around.”

  
And with that, B’Elanna leaned over the couch and kissed the blushing, younger Janeway hard on the mouth.

  
“Just one last question,” Kathryn smirked as they pulled back apart, “what are you going to tell mom? She’ll be here tomorrow and I’m guessing she already got an earful from Owen.”

  
In the end, they decided not to tell Gretchen, not yet anyway. It was bad enough Kathryn knew given the newness of all of it. Gretchen was staying at the same hotel as Kathryn and Seven and she became their problem. Kathryn didn’t mind obliging, this time. It was in her best interest to go along with Phoebe and B’Elanna’s white lie. She knew Gretchen would find a way to blame her for this one, B’Elanna being her crewman and all. Thankfully Owen only knew so much, mostly that Tom had a breakdown and thrown himself back into space. No one knew B’Elanna’s side. So it wasn’t crazy that she was crashing with Phoebe and Gretchen was willing to believe that. 

  
They got away with it. Nearly. The opening had been going quite well, the wine was cold and the art was hot. Phoebe got a few offers right off the bat which kept her nerves at bay. Kathryn, Seven, and Gretchen had arrived together and Phoebe led them around the various pieces roughly in the order she wanted them viewed. When they reached the last piece, a blush began to creep up B’Elanna’s neck. She was glad no one could see it. 

  
The sculpture before them was abstract and full of various curves and waves. In one way, it looked like a kind of möbius device but the interlocked circles made it something else entirely. Standing back, it bore a vague resemblance to a certain anatomical part, one that B’Elanna recognized on sight. Gretchen looked from the piece to her younger daughter and finally in the direction of B’Elanna Torres. She raised a wizened eyebrow and said “humph” mostly under her breath. To her credit, Gretchen left it alone. Truth be told, she didn’t want to know. After a lifetime chasing after the truth from Phoebe, just this time she decided to wait until Phoebe felt the need to tell her. Seven had noticed her reaction and, like Gretchen herself, she was willing to keep it to herself.

  
Kathryn, Seven, and Gretchen stayed the weekend before departing together for Bloomington. They had offered B’Elanna a ride back but she’d turned them down.

  
B’Elanna stayed put, grateful to be alone with Phoebe once more. She needed to be back to work by the end of the week but she was loathe to go. She wanted to just disappear with Phoebe.

  
“I wish I could tell you what to do,” Phoebe said after kissing B’Elanna long and hard. “But you made yourself too damn competent, as Katie would say. Good news though, I’m untethered for the moment. I can certainly come with you, to Utopia Planetia even.”

  
“I think you just did,” B’Elanna said, almost shyly. “I never said I was even remotely interested in leaving yet. I may not know what the hell this is but by Kahless, I know I’m not willing to let it end yet.”

  
Kathryn, Seven, and Gretchen transported to downtown Bloomington, picking up Gretchen’s hovercar at the station. It was a short ride to the farm but Gretchen managed to make it interesting. Kathryn was driving and pointing out random, personal landmarks to Seven. The first place she crashed her bike, her favorite horse trail, where she caught Phoebe kissing the neighbor boy Zeke. Without missing a beat, Gretchen piped up.

  
“Your sister has some taste,” she said startling Kathryn. Kathryn narrowed her eyes at her mother in the rear view mirror. 

  
“What makes you say that, ma?” Kathryn bit, immediately regretting it. 

  
“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? Phoebe couldn’t keep her eyes off B’Elanna Torres the entire time we were there. I know your sister, Katie, and she’s never been hard to read.”

  
Seven snorted quietly at Gretchen’s backhanded criticism of Kathryn. Seven struggled to read Kathryn sometimes still.

  
“She didn’t want to talk about it ma,” Kathryn said, deflecting. They were nearly at the turn for the driveway.

  
“So you knew,” Gretchen said pointedly.

  
“Not by choice,” Seven interjected. It was Gretchen’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

  
“I think we just have to let it play out, they’re both grown-ups, and god knows you can’t tell either of them what to do, not really!”

  
The frame of the house began to rise up before them and Kathryn breathed a tiny sigh of relief.

  
“I suppose you are correct on that last point, though I’m loathe to admit it. I wouldn’t know about B’Elanna, she seems nice enough, but the only person in the Quadrant more stubborn than Phoebe is you!” With that Gretchen stepped out of the car and walked quickly to the house, muttering something about watering the garden as she went.

  
Kathryn looked at Seven who immediately began to giggle.

  
“Oh don’t you start too,” Kathryn chided as she switched off the car. She began to reach for the door when she felt Seven tug at her other arm. She turned and was met with a light kiss. 

  
“Be nice to your mother, she does not know B’Elanna as we do,” Seven said quietly before opening her own door and sliding out of it.

  
They walked slowly to the house and were both surprised to see Gretchen crashing around in the kitchen, flour already filling the air. They dropped their bags on the landing of the stairs before peeking around the kitchen door.

  
“She must be angrier that I thought,” Kathryn said, turning them toward the stairs instead. “Maybe we should take a walk or something, let her cool down.”

  
“Acceptable,” Seven replied, following Kathryn back out the front door.

Kathryn led Seven by the hand. They walked quickly from the house falling easily into a lockstep as they approached the first fence line. Kathryn wanted to steer well clear of her mother’s temper. Her father used to bring down the house when he was angry, using both volume and deadly silence. Gretchen’s ire was always worse though. More often than not, she would pour all of her anger into cooking or cleaning and woe befall the fool to cross her path, especially if that fool were in anyway responsible for the ire in the first place. No, Kathryn was going to give her mother a little space.

There were countless spots on the property she’d yet to show Seven and they were heading for one of her favorites. These spots weren’t special, not in a general way, but they were the hiding places of Kathryn’s youth. The farm stretched over four hundred acres though more than half of that was converted into parklands. Most of the rest was still farmed, mostly with local crops sold at cost to the traditionalist community and at a premium to fine dining institutions that eschewed replicated ingredients. They stayed to the west of the fields, following an old cowpath into the woods.

  
“Why would Gretchen be angry?” Seven still struggled with the complexity of human emotions and Kathryn smiled at her before responded. “Also, where exactly are we going?”

  
“It’s a surprise,” Kathryn’s eyes glittered dangerously. “And as for my mother, well you have to understand about Phoebe. She doesn’t have a great track record.” Kathryn reached up, just ahead of Seven and pulled a handful of piney branches back. Seven gasped as she cautiously stepped through the opening. A small, creek fed pond lay ahead of them. There was a small lea of green surrounding the water and a copse of of tall trees that lay hidden to one side. Between two of the trees hung a striped hammock that Seven could just make out with her enhanced sight.

  
“I thought you’d like it. This was one of my favorite spots as a kid. I used to hide out here and count the stars. Phoebe was usually too lazy to drag all the way out here, especially at night.”

  
“I do like it. It is beautiful. But it is not nighttime,” Seven deadpanned making the hairs on the back Kathryn’s hair stand on end. 

  
“No,” Kathryn blushed all the way to her hairline and started walking faster in the direction of the hammock. 

  
“I still don’t understand about Phoebe,” Seven said as she lengthened her stride to just overcome Kathryn’s pace.

  
“Phoebe has terrible taste usually. The worst. You know we were fighting about that when Voyager got lost in the first place? I swore that if I ever got back, I wouldn’t interfere. I don’t think my mother took that vow.”

  
Kathryn suddenly stopped thinking about her mother and her sister as Seven surprised her by pushing her back against a tree trunk. There was no hesitation as Seven lowered her mouth, kissing Kathryn’s lips playfully at first, before she grew more forceful, causing Kathryn to groan from the back of her throat.

  
Their bodies pressed together as rough bark bit into Kathryn’s back. The sensation was not entirely unpleasant especially as Seven’s hands began to roam freely over her t-shirt. Kathryn was not in a submitting mood however as she grasped at Seven, pulling out the button down shirt and skirting both her hands beneath its narrow constraints. Seven purred in response, pulling back just enough to steer them towards the hammock. Kathryn stopped her in her tracks.

  
“Don’t bother with that. It’s barely good for a nap, but for, well, this,” Kathryn smiled stupidly, “well you would find it, insufficient.”

  
Seven raised an eyebrow in response.

  
“Very well, Captain, do you have a better suggestion?”

  
Kathryn lowered her hands and thought for a moment before pulling Seven forward, until they were parallel to the old firepit. The ground was fairly smooth there, the grass green and level. Divesting herself of her blouse and then her t-shirt, Kathryn stood facing Seven wearing only her her bra. She tugged on Seven again as she dropped to her knees, pulling on Seven to do the same.

  
There were a number of scenarios that flitted through Seven’s cortical node at that moment. Instead of exploring them, she allowed Kathryn to pull her forward until they were both lying side by side on Kathryn’s discarded clothing. Before Seven knew what hit her, Kathryn pounced, pinning the taller, stronger blonde beneath her. The feeling of Seven’s perfect curves fitting into her own only served to heighten Kathryn’s arousal. She wanted to everything else out of her mind and here was her perfect excuse, writhing beneath her.

  
Soon, Seven’s clothes had joined Kathryn’s as they rocked back and forth in each other’s arms. Kathryn’s control slipped almost immediately when Seven was able to capture one of her Kathryn’s aching nipples between her teeth. Kathryn yelped then, and their movements grew wilder. Grasping, gasping, as a flock of birds cawed overhead. Seven was caught unawares by Kathryn’s aggression. It wasn’t that Kathryn was submissive usually but she had been pretty icy cool since they’d walked in on Phoebe and B’Elanna. Whatever was fueling it, Seven was game as she felt the wind come up, sweeping over their searing, sweaty flesh as the last rays of the strong sun sank steadily over the horizon.

  
Kathryn’s fingers were fast as she suddenly remembered the need for efficiency when having sex outdoors. Now was not a time for long foreplay. Her fingers reached into Sevens now unfastened pants and quickly found their way around the sodden cotton of her panties. Seven shuddered as Kathryn’s fingers made quick contact, circling her swollen clit before sliding lightly downward. She wasted no time entering Seven and Seven’s hips surged forward to meet her touch. She added a third finger as Seven began to ride her hand harder and harder. Kathryn ground back, sweating with the force of her thrusts. She could feel Seven’s walls clenching and she nudged her thumb higher once more. Seven’s whole body bucked then, nearly sending Kathryn flying. The orgasm ripped through Seven and ricocheted through Kathryn leaving them shaking and holding each other tightly.

  
Seven smiled, running the fingers of her Borg hand through Kathryn’s sweat damp hair. Her other hand traveled down, over the swell of Kathryn’s still bra clad breasts, lower still, as she undid the class of the belt and closure of the denim. Kathryn actually squeaked as Seven reached and found, thrumming her long slender fingers through Kathryn’s sopping curls. Seven knew she had all the control for the moment and instead of rushing, she moved her fingers slowly, exploring each curve and fold of Kathryn’s sex. 

  
Kathryn thought she might lose her mind. Seven was playing at her every nerve. She murmured. She begged even. Seven just smiled, refusing to rush her pace. But then, just as she was about to scream in frustration, Seven thrust her fingers forward, entering Kathryn with such precision that she thought she might come just then. She nearly did as Seven swept her up, her hips crashing into Seven’s. Her fingers were pounding, twisting, and Kathryn was only able to keep her pace as wave after wave began to crest. Seven leaned close, whispering into her ear.

  
“Come for me captain.”

  
Kathryn exploded beneath her, wracked with spasms of concentrated pleasure, and now it was Seven who fought to keep hold of their sweat slicked bodies. Before Seven loosened her grip, she felt Kathryn reach for her once again. Their pants still around their ankles, their aching wrists twisted against each other once more. They were so in sync it only took a long moment before they were shaking into each other’s arms. 

  
Night was beginning to fall and the air had turned distinctly chilly. Kathryn shivered, still wrapped in Seven’s strong arms. The sweat had cooled on their backs and an owl let out a low call, startling them both. Sitting up slowly, they managed to reach most of their clothing. A film of dusty dirt, pine needles and grass-stains adorned both their bodies and the clothes did little to cover their dinginess. Seven even had several small pine cones trapped in the twisting, tangled tendrils of her very mussed hair.

  
Looking from Seven’s flushed and smudgy face to Prussian blue sky surrounding them and Kathryn could do nothing but smile. But judging from the sky, they’d been out there for quite sometime. It wouldn’t do to miss dinner, especially if Gretchen hadn’t burned off her temper entirely. Kathryn didn’t want to find out so she reached for Seven’s hand before slowly making her way back down the cowpath.

  
They reached the house, opting to use the front door and not cross Gretchen’s sight looking as disreputable as they both did. Seven shot up the stairs without a word. 

  
“We’re back mom,” Kathryn peeked her head into the swinging door of the kitchen and hollered over the clatter of dishes. “Took Seven down to see the pond but we got pretty muddy. Gonna jump in the shower. Smells great in here!” Kathryn jetted away from the kitchen before Gretchen could respond. She joined Seven in the shower a moment later but forestalled anymore fooling around for the moment. From the look of her mother’s angry dishwashing, it wouldn’t help their case. 

  
Seven pouted for a moment before running a soapy hand gratuitously over Kathryn’s naked skin. Eyes wide, Kathryn swatted back but quickly threw some shampoo into her hair and tried to move things along. Seven took the hint and massaged Kathryn’s scalp before using a washcloth to scrub Kathryn’s back. Seven had to lean slightly back for Kathryn to do the same to her hair and it took great will for Kathryn to not cave as her hands swept over Seven’s slick ass. This was torture but it was momentary. They had plenty of time. Just not right then. And with serious ache, they rushed though the conditioning and managed to rinse off without further incident.

  
Dressed but still damp, they helped Gretchen carry out course after course until the dining room table practically buckled beneath the weight of it all. Gretchen had made fried chicken and every single side. Seven’s eyes gaped at the food. Then her stomach growled, surprising her and making Kathryn giggle. There were endless plates it seemed, slaw and mashed potatoes with gravy, fried green tomatoes and biscuits, ham and beans and corn on the cob. There was even Mac and cheese. And don’t forget the glorious lemon chess pie, gleaming on the sideboard.

  
Kathryn stood back, looking at the spread. She knew her mother often had dishes prepped but even so this was impressive.

  
“We expecting anyone else for dinner? This is a veritable feast!”

  
Gretchen leveled her eyes at her older daughter. She didn’t really want to take her lingering ire out on Kathryn, she didn’t deserve it, yet. 

  
“Well, I was going to invite your sister but she is clearly preoccupied,” Gretchen said placidly enough though Seven could detect a minute curl to her upper lip. “So I invited Kellan and Astari, they’ve been working so hard with the harvest I thought they might like a hot meal. Hope that’s alright with you. They should be here shortly.”

  
Despite its inauspicious start, dinner ended up being a convivial affair with everyone eating far more than was advisable. Kathryn said a silent thank you that her mother’s rage seldom manifested in the food she prepared. No one needed that much agita, no one. Once the pie and coffee was served, Gretchen began to clear up but was halted by Seven who took over the cleanup. Kathryn groaned to herself but followed suit, supposing Seven’s brown nosing of Gretchen was working in their favor. 

  
By the time they’d finished in the kitchen, Kellan and Astari were saying their goodbyes to Gretchen. They bade good night to Seven and Kathryn as well before disappearing out the door into the crisp, dark night.

  
Gretchen turned to her oldest daughter, eying her suspiciously. Kathryn didn’t want Seven to witness the battle of silence about to ensue so she threw her engines into over drive and headed right for the center of the binary star.

  
“I’m having a drink,” she declared. “Anyone else?”

  
Before Seven could reply, Gretchen took the bait.

  
“Make mine a double,” she said before retreating to her favorite armchair, her eyes never leaving her daughter.

  
Seven wasn’t sure what she should do, she didn’t want a drink nor did she want to be trapped between two Janeways. She’d had enough of that in the last week.

  
“Do you mind if I make a cup of tea, Gretchen?” Seven asked politely.

  
“Help yourself dear,” Gretchen replied, her eyes never leaving her older daughter.

  
Seven was happy to be alone in the expansive kitchen. Like everything else, the tea was old fashioned and Seven placed a kettle on the stove to heat. She then selected an herbal blend, heavy in peppermint, and heaped a spoonful into the mesh filter of her mug. She poured the steaming water over the crushed leaves, a sharp, mint aroma filling the air. Her Borg enhanced hearing had allowed her to follow the hissing, heated argument ensuing in the other other room. Seven was loathe to go back in there and chose to exit by the back door and walk partway along the wraparound porch. Even this far away and she could still hear them but it was a little muffled by the nocturnal noises of nature.

  
The moon was nearly fully risen before Kathryn realized Seven had never come back with her tea. She didn’t blame her really, she and Gretchen seemed locked into what was an age old battle. For all that Kathryn loved to take the piss out of Phoebe, she would never do so in front of their mother. Kathryn took her vow of protection as an older sister very seriously, it didn’t matter they were no longer kids or that Gretchen was both their mother. Kathryn had defended Phoebe their whole lives and she wasn’t about to stop now. She may not understand how or why Phoebe and B’Elanna had really found each other but she was not about to jump on Gretchen’s critical bandwagon.

  
“Wasn’t she engaged to Tom Paris though?” Gretchen wouldn’t let it go.

  
“Mom, it’s the twenty-fourth century,” Kathryn was feeling exasperated. Two whiskeys in was not enough to keep up with her mother’s circular logic. “For once, I don’t think Phoebe is being stupid. And I know B’Elanna quite well. Whatever this is, it’s their business!”

  
“That may well be but it doesn’t answer my other question?” Gretchen still glared at her though the whiskeys were helping to soften the edge. “I still have no grandchildren to boast of, not a one. What do you propose to do about that?”

  
“That’s it!” Kathryn declared. “Enough for tonight ma, I love you but I can’t do this right now,” she evaded, moving quickly in the direction of the kitchen. 

  
Seven was nowhere to be found and Kathryn refilled her glass with another shot. The conversation with her mother had given her a pounding headache. Looking around, she surmised Seven to either be outside or upstairs, dismayed she hadn’t heard Seven’s exit. She opened the backdoor and her skin prickled with cold night air. Stepping foot outside, she could hear that same pesky owl calling out over the fields. The moon was high and bright making distinct black shadows across the yard. Rounding the corner, Kathryn found Seven sitting in swing on the south side of the house. Seven’s long legs stretched out before her and she seemed lost in thought, staring blankly across the starry sky. 

  
“Hey,” Kathryn said, the whiskey and yelling making her voice rough.

  
“Hey,” Seven replied stiffly, finally looking up. “I am sorry you are at odds with Gretchen.”

  
“Oh it’ll pass. She’s just scared she’s not getting any grandkids,” Kathryn smiled looking over Seven’s flushed cheeks.

  
“Grandkids? Kathryn, are you interested in having children?”

  
“Not you too!” Kathryn practically shrieked.

  
“I thought it prudent to ask. We have never discussed it.”

  
“Not tonight, ok? Tonight I would just like to crawl into bed with you and forget that I’m related to anyone.”

  
“I will comply,” Seven smiled shyly as she gathered up her empty mug and followed Kathryn back inside and up the stairs.

  
The First Anniversary Of Voyager’s return

The party was in full swing. It stretched over the top three floors of the Drake Hotel. The roof bar hosted the reception for the senior staff and Kathryn and Seven arrived after stopping at the other two floors first. Seven was already beginning to squirm from the sensory overload and both she and Kathryn were relieved when B’Elanna pulled Seven over to a quiet corner of the bar. Kathryn resumed her sweep of the room and was surprised to see everyone but Tom and Chakotay present. Tom she knew about but Chakotay was a bit of a surprise. According to the Doctor, he’d embarked on a sort of vision quest but even he hadn’t heard from him in months.

  
Tom’s absence was the talk of the dimly lit lounge and B’Elanna had been giving the same stock answer to everyone. She’d chosen to come without Phoebe much to Kathryn’s relief. She might not technically be the Captain, she still had her pride of place. Phoebe had a talent for tarnishing that at times. Still B’Elanna moped without her, unable to celebrate properly surrounded by the echoes of Tom.

  
Harry was moping too. He’d hoped to jet off with Tom but he’d received different orders just as Tom was going. Harry was assigned to bridge operations on the science vessel, Newton. It came with a promotion, finally, and he accepted it on the spot. He was set to leave next week though it would only be a six week mission. He hoped that would be true this time.

  
Frustrated by the subdued atmosphere, Neelix began regaling everyone in sight with his first impressions of his adopted home planet, though he’d yet to pick a place to stay put yet. Neelix’s tales inspired a round of whiskey shots and that began to finally loosen things up. It seemed most everyone was getting on with their lives. Those that had chosen to remain with Starfleet were scattering to new orders, breaking up the little family for good. 

  
Many toasts were raised, even one by the captain herself, and the lounge began to reverberate with a din of suddenly inebriated voices. Music began to surge from all around and people began to dance on the tiny parquet patch of floor. Kathryn was jockeyed forward and she grabbed Seven’s hand, it was their anniversary after all. 

  
Kathryn sipped Irish whiskey, neat, sitting on the barstool next to Seven. She’d hosted nearly the full array of her crew complement and her throat was a bit tight from talking so much. Seven and B’Elanna had slipped deep into their cups, they were both plastered and Kathryn was dreading dealing with that. So she sat and sipped as one by one people began to bid them goodnight. 

  
Seven was definitely not functioning within acceptable parameters. The world was blurry and an eerie haze of nostalgia seemed to grip her. The sensation was so strange to Seven, she tried to ask B’Elanna but the half-Klingon had passed out cold on the cherrywood bar. This caused Seven to giggle and then hiccup. Kathryn knew it was time to go. So much for celebrating their anniversary tonight. She’d already been resigned to postponing their private party but seeing Seven this tanked pretty much guaranteed it. She’d be lucky to escape the barfing Borg hour at this point but from the look of Seven’s face, she knew her luck was run out.

  
Cursing Tom, Janeway managed to get Seven to her feet but needed to call the Doctor over to help keep her standing as Kathryn attempted to deal with B’Elanna. After two failed attempts and one near miss, B’Elanna woke, drunk and surly, stumbling from the barstool and sliding to the floor. Drawn to the commotion, Harry came trundling over and he and Janeway got B’Elanna on her feet, where she swayed unsteadily and leaned heavily upon Harry.

  
“I guess I should be glad we were already spending the night,” Kathryn declared as the inebriated group dragged themselves to the lifts. B’Elanna had a room on the same floor as Harry and he volunteered to get her back there. Thankfully B’Elanna was past the point of drunken belligerence and she went unsteadily towards her room, dragging chivalrous Harry along with her.

  
Seven was still pretty soused once they reached the honeymoon suite but she was beginning to sober in increments. She knew Kathryn had other ideas about the night and she felt disappointed that they seemed ruined now. To her credit, Kathryn was taking it in stride and was more concerned with Seven’s physical state. It was true that the alcohol was disturbing her stomach and her temperature had risen 2.6 degrees.

Kathryn had managed to shed most of her layers when she heard Seven dart into the bathroom. That’s the way it goes, she sighed to herself as she padded barefoot to the bathroom door. 

  
“You ok in there?”

  
The only answer was a groan followed by some seriously unromantic noises. Kathryn pushed the door open to behold Seven hunched over the toilet bowl. Her blonde hair was falling forward, swaying with each retching motion she made. Kathryn edged forward and knelt next to her, scooping the errant blonde hairs back from Seven’s flushed face as best she could. 

  
Luckily for both of them, Seven never consumed much solid food at a time, and the spasms subsided after a long ten minutes. Kathryn wiped Seven’s face with a cool washcloth before leaving her to finish cleaning herself up. Resigned to the night ending, Kathryn retreated back to the enormous, silken bed, removing the last of her clothing before slipping between the satiny sheets. She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, she was being slowly tackled by a Borg goddess with still wet hair.

  
Seven’s lightning fast metabolism had burned through the last of the booze while she was still in the shower. She emerged feeling not quite sober but immensely better. She replicated a pitcher of ice water and drank two glasses down before emerging from the still steamy bathroom wrapped only in a fluffy, white robe. Seeing Kathryn already asleep, Seven intended to just crawl in beside her but when she pulled the covers back, Kathryn’s surprise nakedness had the intended effect. Seven couldn’t help herself and Kathryn opened her eyes to find Seven already between her legs.

  
They howled through the rest of the wee hours of the night, falling asleep tangled in each other’s arms. It had turned out to be a proper anniversary after all. 

  
B’Elanna awoke the next morning with a pounding head and two messages glaring at her from the hotel padd. She couldn’t deal with those yet. She wrenched herself from the luxurious bed and was immensely grateful someone, Harry maybe, had left her a restorative hypospray. She pressed it to her neck and began to feel immediately better. She then proceeded to get cleaned up, taking full advantage of the old school hydro-shower. Once clean and relatively sober, she replicated a pot of coffee and some banana pancakes. 

  
Feeling nearly herself again, B’Elanna braved her waiting messages. The first one was from Tom and B’Elanna’s hand shook when she pushed play.

“Hey, I know the reunion was last night and I am sorry I had to miss it. I wanted to know that I received your message, loud and clear, and I want you to know I support you completely. I thought I might be angry to hear of you with someone else but because it’s Phoebe, I don’t know, I guess it kinda makes sense to me. Especially after all the grief I’ve given you over the years. But I did want to say that I still love you, now maybe more than ever, and I will take you however you want to be. It’s the twenty-fourth century, I think we can find a way, don’t you? If you don’t, I understand. I won’t be back for another eleven months so time is not a factor. You don’t need to give any kind of answer but I would like it if you could write me back. It gets lonely out here. Ok I’ll wrap it up, be good to yourself, B, you deserve it. Ciao”

The second message was from Phoebe.

“I can’t wait for you to come back. I hope it wasn’t too rough and you feel ok now. I could come meet you there even?” Phoebe flirted hard through the lens and B’Elanna felt a little light headed. Then there was a knock on her door. She jumped about a foot before she answered it. She tried to hide her disappointment when she saw her former commanding officer’s face and not that of her younger sister.

  
“Expecting someone else, Lieutenant?” Kathryn joshed her but in B’Elanna’s flummoxed state she almost fell to attention. The last of Phoebe’s message just finished playing on the padd. 

  
“Wh-no-I mean—

  
Kathryn immediately started laughing and Seven just stood there rolling her eyes. 

  
“We came to see if you would like to get some breakfast with us?” Seven interjected.

  
“Ah, I ate actually. I think I’m heading out shortly.”

As Kathryn and Seven went to eat brunch with many of the remaining crewman, B’Elanna quickly gathered her things from around the hotel room. She made a quick, clean exit, surprising even herself, she thought for sure that she’d see someone at the transporter pads at least. But no one was there to hear her tell the operator Paris, France, no was a one there to witness the broad, guiltless smile that broke clear across B’Elanna’s face

**Author's Note:**

> Wild ride right? 
> 
> Thanks for reading and hopefully commenting, especially if you dug it.
> 
> I would never have thought to write this if it was for all the great feedback I’ve gotten from you all from the start.
> 
> Thanks again for being truly great readers and fans.


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